This invention relates to highway railroad crossings. It pertains particularly to a stabilized, durable railroad crossing made of molded comminuted rubber particles.
Although the prior art crossings provide a variety of structural features, they are subject to various objections among the most important of which are the following: Many of them are complicated in construction. They are expensive to build, install and maintain. They are subject to "sanding action", i.e. the wear caused by sand and grit filtering into the interstices of the crossing structure and abrading contacting surfaces as the structure works and is displaced by passing traffic, both rail and highway.
They are unstable and tend to jar and vibrate loose in use with the result that the components shift position. They have a relatively short service life, because of the foregoing factors and also because the surface wears, becomes rough and is not easily repairable.
It is the general purpose of the present invention to provide a railroad crossing deck component which is simple in design, inexpensive to build, install and maintain, not subject to sanding action, stable, and possesses a long service life.
We have discovered that the foregoing and other objects, which will be developed hereinafter, may be achieved by the provision of a railroad crossing deck component which, in conjunction with other components of like kind may be assembled into a railroad crossing of solid, unitary, stable construction.
Each component broadly comprises a flat pad of molded, comminuted rubber. The pad is dimensioned to lie adjacent the rail with its undersurface supported on and bearing against the ties and ballast. Its upper surface lies at an elevation relative to the rail head predetermined to provide a smooth, traffic-crossing surface. The edge surface of the slab is contoured and dimensioned to bear against the web of one of the rails. The bottom surface parallel to the edge surface and immediately adjacent thereto, is contoured and dimensioned to provide an elongated foot adapted to bear against the adjacent rail base.
The bottom surface of the slab parallel and immediately adjacent to the foot is recessed to provide a channel having a ceiling adapted to bear against the tie plate-spike assembly which holds the rail plate. The upper surface is recessed to form a longitudinal edge recess providing in one case a flangeway and in another case a bearing surface which bears against the outside rail head edge. Spikes or other securing means secure the slab to the underlying ties to which it is in contact. The entire assembly thus is fixed and stabilized so that the components cannot work loose. It also is sealed against entry of abrasive grit and moisture.